Facebook launches new corporate policy and fund to support human rights

Facebook Inc has launched a corporate human rights policy and a fund to support human rights defenders.

The announcement was made in a blog post by Miranda Sissons, Directors of Human Rights at Facebook.

The new policy sets out the human rights standards Facebook will strive to respect as defined in international law including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

“It sets out how we will apply these standards to our apps and products, policies, programming, and overall approach to our business. We will report our most critical human rights issues, like risks to freedom of expression, to our Board of Directors,” said Miranda Sissons, Director of Human Rights.

Facebook will also release a public report annually on how it is addressing human rights concerns stemming from its products, policies, or business practices.

Sissons said that the yearly report will build on its existing practice of disclosing human rights impact assessments and detailed responses to recommendations.

Facebook said that it is also creating a fund that will give offline assistance to human rights defenders facing critical threats and support new digital security efforts, beginning in Asia later this year.